For Luxury Travel, It's All About the Little Things

Fresh off the plane from Paris for men's fashion week, Patrick Janelle has spent a small percent of 2014 at home in New York City's Soho. And he's okay with that.

"Through Instagram, I have become a kind of guide for people," said the creative director of Spring Street Social Society, a sort of cool kids’ club through which he throws dinner parties and variety shows in hidden, often raw spaces around Manhattan. "Things are always changing. Recently, hotels and restaurants have increased their thoughtfulness about how to excel and make specific marks. If there is a space that I think is particularly interesting, I love being able to introduce people to it."

A former graphic designer, Janelle has a seasoned eye for design, a taste for good food, and a willingness to go out of his way to find the restaurants that excel at both. "I'm very unlikely to stop at some corner cafe wherever I am in the world and be content," he told us. "I want to know what's the best cafe right now, and I will spend time wandering further afield to find it." Because of these high standards, among other things, Janelle won the 2014 CFDA Fashion Instagrammer of the Year award, collaborating with designer Thom Browne to capture particularly beautiful moments in Janelle’s very stylish life.

So how does someone whose job it is to be a tastemaker define luxury? Well, he was embodying it when we spoke with him, swinging in a hammock in sunny Provincetown and wearing a jacket and tie on the boardwalk.

What makes a place "the best"?____It needs to have a strong identity. I'm as happy to go to a dive-y place that serves cheap tacos as I am a design-heavy place that spent a lot of money on their interiors, but it's about that place knowing what they do well and really owning it.

How do you choose your travel destinations?I'm not really a big planner; I'm definitely more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants traveler. If there's something that's presenting itself, like a friend is traveling or I hear about an exhibition that I want to go to, I'm more likely to get up and go. The freedom to do that is a luxury!

As for the place itself, I'm just as interested in a weekend trip to St. Louis as I am in a week trip to Tokyo. I would book a ticket and be excited to find what it is about any city that I could connect with.

Is there anything specific you do to make yourself comfortable in-flight?I'm always hungry, but I get really disappointed when I have to go to a shop at an airport and have to find just anything – it's expensive and not that great. So I bring nice snacks with me: a good bar of chocolate, probably some sort of savory snack, and granola.

What's the first thing you do when you arrive in a new city?I find a cafe and have a cup of coffee to feel like I'm settling into the local culture. Nothing makes me feel like I belong there more than having that little sit with the city.

What's your approach to dining when you travel?Before I go, I consult Wallpaper's guides and Petite Passport. Then I see how things go once I get there.

I'm less likely to cook when I travel, but I love going to markets and prepared-foods stores. There was a place in Istanbul that I came across; there were jars of traditional Turkish things like this savory breakfast tomato tapenade. I brought that back to my place and had it for lunch.

What do you look for in a hotel?The most important thing about a place is the service, which shows itself in the details. It's not about somebody pampering you, it's about people greeting you with a smile; you feel welcome because they really look at you and have a conversation as opposed to shuttling you off to a room. I was in Chicago recently, for example, and stayed at the Park Hyatt right off Michigan Avenue. Upon checking in, they knew who I was – they cared enough to do some research so they could personally welcome me as opposed to treating me like a stranger – and it really made me feel like a valued guest.

Another example: If, in the middle of conversation, someone picks up on the idea that you could benefit from menu for a restaurant and then, without you asking or implying anything, they deliver it to your room. Those little details make me feel really connected to a place.

Are there any rules of indulgence when you're on the road? Anything special you do for yourself that you wouldn't do at home?The most luxurious thing is a good bed. I will give myself more time to sleep in if there's a comfortable mattress and duvet around me. What makes a good bed: the mattress needs to be happy medium between firmness and sinky-ness, so a firm mattress with feather top, high thread count sheets, and a super fluffy duvet.

The types of products that are used in a room go a long way, too. The suite I stayed in at a Park Hyatt property had Le Labo products, and just that little touch of having a beautiful lotion and body wash made me feel really pampered.

I also love a pair of hotel slippers and a robe. All of those things that are traditional, cheesy luxury things, I eat it up.

What's one item you're never without?I try to travel really light (luxury is not having to wait at the carousel for your baggage!) so I stick to the essentials. Included in the essentials is a bathing suit. Never travel without a swimsuit ever! Period. You never know: there could be a hot tub, there could be a pool. Even if you don't think you need one, just take it anyway.

If you had the luxury of time—no meetings, nobody you must see, etc.—in the following cities, how would you spend it?

New York: I love a good brunch. I'd go sit at the bar by myself, read the New Yorker, have a Bloody Mary, and then ride my bike over a bridge into Brooklyn.

Los Angeles: I'd find a rooftop pool. A good drink in a pool is all you need in LA.

Paris: I'd wander the streets of the Marais and then get a pastry and eat it while sitting along the Canal Saint Martin.

London: I would stop by Borough Market for delicious little things and then I would want to rediscover the coffee scene. Last time I was there was three years ago but, even since then, there's been so much change in London's coffee culture.

Milan: When I think about Italy, I think about the old architecture. Milan is not the most beautiful city on first glance, so I would want to seek out some of the older buildings, unearthing the more beautiful areas.